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exhaust pipe cutting tool suggestions

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by chevyfordman, Mar 22, 2011.

  1. chevyfordman
    Joined: Oct 4, 2008
    Posts: 1,355

    chevyfordman
    Member

    Everyone here knows the best tools to buy, when making your own exhaust pipes, what tool do you use to make perfect cuts? I tried a chop saw and found out that I wasted my money. Thanks for any help.
     
  2. Cutting for headers, a band saw and a disc sander.
    cutting for under car runs, the same or sawzall.
    Set up is everything, helps to keep cuts thru center of bend radius so its always round, avoid ellipse and egg shapes unless that's what you need.
    a template for different radius bends with lines from center can help you follow the cut you really want.
     
  3. scoottattoo
    Joined: Mar 30, 2007
    Posts: 39

    scoottattoo
    Member
    from Nevada

    band saw and sawzall. A disc sander as 31vicky said is prime tool to have period
     
  4. Master of None
    Joined: Dec 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,279

    Master of None
    Member

    Go to go to Home depot or Lows or Menards and pick up a pipe cutter. It looks like a bigger version of a brake line cutter. Makes perfect cuts, but you will have to ream the inside of the pipe in order to make a slip fitting.
     

  5. Grego56
    Joined: Nov 22, 2010
    Posts: 32

    Grego56
    Member
    from Hanover Pa

    I use sawzall and I also have a chain cutter works very well specially in tight spaces and leaves a nice cut
     

  6. DITTO on this, work great.
     
  7. need louvers ?
    Joined: Nov 20, 2008
    Posts: 12,903

    need louvers ?
    Member

    Your life will be much easier with a good pipe cutter! I bought my RIGID brand for 35.00 at a local pawn shop. Best money I've spent lately.
     
  8. ErikHardy
    Joined: Jan 22, 2011
    Posts: 34

    ErikHardy
    Member

    Sawzall or a small air powered cut-off wheel.
     
  9. 302GMC
    Joined: Dec 15, 2005
    Posts: 7,856

    302GMC
    Member
    from Idaho

    X2 on the chain cutter. Under the car, it'll fit where nothing else will.
     
    Boryca likes this.
  10. I've used a GOOD chop saw, sawzall or even a hack saw but I have a disc sander to clean it up :).
     
  11. daddylama
    Joined: Feb 20, 2002
    Posts: 930

    daddylama
    Member

    like above:
    good pipe cutter...
    good chain cutter...
    hack saw with a hose clamp on the tube as a guide...

    i clean up the cut with either the bench belt sander or hand files if needed.
     
  12. Retro Jim
    Joined: May 27, 2007
    Posts: 3,854

    Retro Jim
    Member

    Pretty much all that was posted . I either use a band saw and clean it up with a sander or a hacksaw .
    A chop saw will work buy use oil and let the blade cut the metal and not by pressing hard on the saw to cut it fast .
    My chose is always a band saw or hack saw .

    Retro Jim
     
  13. mrtrimmier
    Joined: Feb 18, 2011
    Posts: 33

    mrtrimmier
    Member

    Good idea on the hose clamp/hacksaw. At the muffler shop we would use a rigid brand cutter at the pipe bender machine and a chain cutter on the car if necessary. Used to make angled tips using chrome pipe sections on the chop saw. Cut it in the middle and always have 2 matching pieces! ;0)
     
  14. daddylama
    Joined: Feb 20, 2002
    Posts: 930

    daddylama
    Member

    i think the simple hack saw has lost favor over the years, to chop saws.

    more and more, the hack saw (with a very good blade) is once again my go-to for most cuts unless i'm doing a LOT of cutting...
    ditto for files vs grinders...



    maybe i'm just getting old :)
     
  15. Shaggy
    Joined: Mar 6, 2003
    Posts: 5,207

    Shaggy
    Member
    from Sultan, WA

    4" grinder and cutoff wheel for me....
     
  16. A cold saw works great.
     
  17. delaware1930
    Joined: Jan 20, 2011
    Posts: 105

    delaware1930
    Member
    from Delaware

    I use a band saw.
     
  18. devilleish
    Joined: Jan 15, 2007
    Posts: 254

    devilleish
    Member

    Pipe cutter & chain cutter and an exhaust cone to restore the shape afterward, but the light taper helps with the slip fit into mufflers and other joints. Under the car nothing beats a recip saw IF you're on a lift, otherwise space gets cramped and when the blade bites your elbow gets bounced off the floor.
     
  19. chevyfordman
    Joined: Oct 4, 2008
    Posts: 1,355

    chevyfordman
    Member

    Thanks, for all the suggestions, now I know where to go and what to buy.
     
  20. I build custom headers and exhaust prototypes for production everyday - it's my job. When cutting tubing I use a good quality chop saw with an abrasive blade more than anything else. Good square cuts, no crush of the tube, and doesn't thin the edge of the cut like a tube cutter or chain, so it welds better. For bends that I can't comfortably get into the chop saw I use a 20" band saw that is older than me.
    For production we use both a Cold Saw and a Huge commercial tubing cutter that rolls the tube against a fixed blade - but this machine is 20 feet long, weighs several thousand pounds and isn't exactly something for the small shop or home user.
     
    jimmy six likes this.
  21. I can tell nobody who really does exhaust work every day has chimed in yet......anyone who does, knows what a Ridgid #30 pipe cutter is. That IS the cutter that you will find in all serious muffler shops. Most of your local plumbing shops will sell them, or better yet, just buy a used one on ebay. They are pretty much indestructible. I've bought them on ebay for about $25. The plumping supply shops will sell replacement blades for $10 or less. My muffler supplier does too, but they are 1/2 as much from my plumbing supply. You have to use the right blade for the kind of material you are cutting AND it HAS TO BE SHARP!!! If used right, I get about 6 months of use out of a blade before it starts to round the edges. It will still work, but takes twice as long to cut and the inside burr is of course larger.
    IMHO, the chain style cutters and any other style cutter out there aren't worth 2 cents. Sure you can use a chop saw or whatever else, but trust me the #30 is the way to go unless you need to make angled cuts. I prefer a nice band saw to do that.

    Here is what one looks like:
    http://cgi.ebay.com/Ridgid-30-Screw-Feed-Tubing-Cutter-/150561130201?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230e2486d9#ht_500wt_922
     
  22. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ... a chop saw MUST be plugged in to work correctly, failure to do so will result in unsatisfactory cuts.


    Seriously though, I use a (must be at least 20 years old, bought it new) Makita chop saw (12") and have no problems at all ... a quick clean up on the outside with a sanding disc on a grinder and a quick touch up on the inside of the cut with a file ... done deal. I have no idea what issues you are having being that you failed to mention why you feel you made a mistake cutting with a chop saw. I am not saying a chop saw is necc the absolute best method (band saw does sound nice if you have the room and can afford a good one) but I have certainly never had any problems/felt I made a mistake by using a chop saw (I use it for all kinds of things ... exhaust tubing, tubing for rollcages and frames, shortening bolts, braided line etc etc).
     
  23. chevyfordman
    Joined: Oct 4, 2008
    Posts: 1,355

    chevyfordman
    Member

    Borntoloze,
    I bought a Milwaukee chop saw but the blade wonders around on the tubing making it difficult to make a square cut. Also I find it hard to hold a curved piece of tubing in the vise to make my short curved pieces. Only a straight piece of tubing will be cut the straightest and easiest. I used to use the die grinder with the best results but thought the chop saw would work better but for me it didn't. I just sent off for a chain cutter hoping it would help some in the curved pieces, I guess I should have waited a little longer. I never find that tools are a waste of money, sometimes a little expensive of an education, but never a waste. Thanks, and I'll start looking for a Ridgid #30 pipe cutter also, Thanks everyone else also.
     
  24. the best for curved pieces is going to be a band saw, you can cut it at any angle because your hands are the vice.
     
  25. I use a grinder with a 1mm slitting disc. I mark the cut using a jubilee (hose) clip and a Sharpie. I then put the grinder in a vice and offer up the cut line, turning the pipe as I go.

    Sent from my moto g(6) play using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  26. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    Cutting U-bends for headers
    Rough cuts with "whatever", but for final trimming, I welded handle extentions to some aviation snips and use those to get the fit I want and then to the disc for the "zero" gap touch-up
     
  27. cshades
    Joined: Sep 2, 2011
    Posts: 554

    cshades
    Member
    from wi

    I own an auto repair shop that does custom exhaust bending. We use a Ridgid #30 tube cutter, as long as you have sharp cutter wheel and haven't dropped the tool too many times it cuts straight and perfect every time.
     
  28. Ebbsspeed
    Joined: Nov 11, 2005
    Posts: 6,251

    Ebbsspeed
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I guess I'm old too. Hacksaw is my primary tool for cutting exhaust tubing, but I don't do a whole lot of exhaust and header work.
     
  29. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,144

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    Only do exhaust related work when a gun is held to my head, but those times I've used the hose clamp trick and a small cutoff disc on a die grinder with minor truing up with small grinder, got the job done.
    I don't have a chop saw anymore but I also have done this on heavy wall tubing with good results.
     

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